Scraper



July 20, .1926. 1,593,007

' C. E, BALL ET AL SCRAPER Filed June 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS Charles E-BOLLL and SautncLe-l H.BCLLL BY Q M asRNEY 'July 20 1926.

C.. E. BALL ET AL SCRAPER Filed June 2 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ('12 earl/es E-Ba/LZ mad RS'CLIHLLQL H.Ba LL BY mm ATTORNEY July 20, 1926. Y 1,593,007

C. E. BALL ET'AL SCRAPER Filed June 22 19 5 4 SheetsSheet 5 V INVENTORS Ch arias E, Ball mad SazaaueL H- BaLL July 20 1926. 1,593,007

c. E. BALL ET AL SGRAPER Filed June 22 9 5 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS ChmLeS E- Baa mad Gaza 141,191, H.Ba Z/L Patented July 20, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. BALL AND SAMUEL H. BALL, OF IRWIN CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS 01' TWO- THIRDS TO SAID CHARLES E. BALL O1? ONE-THIRD TO SAID BAHUEL.H. BALI.

SCRAIPER.

Application filed June 22, 1825. Serial No. 38,874.

This invention relates to improvements in scrapers and particularly to an improvement over that type of scraper shown in our copending application for patent -filed November-17th, 1924, Serial No. 7 50,349.

Such scraper included a bowl adapted to be raised up at its front end for carrying the load; a rear'end gate whose opening is controlled at will when necessary to dump the load; means for controlling the raising and lowering of the bowl and a forward gate automatically engaging and cooperating with the front end of the bowl when the latter is raised to prevent the dirt from spilling out from such end.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide in connection with such main features, an improved form of mechanism for controlling the movement of the bowl in such a'manner that the raising and lowering is very easily controlled. We have arranged that the bowl raising mechanism will be automatically disconnected from driving relation after the bowl has been raised a predetermined distance without tension on the part of the operator. The bowl will then be held against downward movement until such time as the operator desires to cause the same to resume its ground engaging position.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as'will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the scraper with the bowl in its lowered position, and the control mechanism neutral or idle.

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the control mechanism moved to cause the bowl mechanism to function.

'Fig. 3 is a like view mainlydn section showing the bowl in a fully raised position just as the control mechanism is being automatically released.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of thescraper.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bowl from the rear end.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a latch arm and its engaging member.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view showing a modified form of pawl releasing means. v

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the main side frames of suitable construction, supported intermediate their ends on wheels 2 which are mounted on individual stub shafts or spindles 3. The front end of the frames are supported by a steerable wheel 4, if the scraper is to be drawn by draft animals. If a tractor is used as the draft means the front end of the frame is attached directly to and supported by the tractor, in which case the,

wheel 4 is omitted.

Projecting upwardly from the frames 1 is an auxiliary frame-work 1 on which is journaled a transverse shaft 5, preferably disposed in substantially vertical alinement with the spindles 3. Fixed on the shaft 5 are sprockets 6 engaged by chains 7 which extend thence around grooved sheaves 8 mounted in connection with the Wheels 2. The sheaves are located between the wheels and theadjacent frames 1, and the sprockets 6 are of course in transverse vertical alinement therewith. The chains are normally slack so that they slip in the sheaves and hence impart no movement to the shaft 5 with the rotation of the wheels 2. To tighten the chains and cause the same to frictionally and drivingly engage the sheaves, we provide a tightener device comprising idler pulleys 9 supported on vertical arms 10 which are pivoted onto the frames 1, the pulleys being disposed to the rear of the chains. Substantially horizontal links or pull-rods 11 extend forwardly from the pulleys to operative connections with a common transverse shaft 12 from which an operating lever 13 projects upwardly. This lever is disposed to one side of a seat 14 on the structure and is arrangedto be moved forward to throw theidlers into engagement with the chains.

Attached to an arm 12 projecting upwardly from shaft 12- and extending rear-- the beam, its weight being sufiicient to cause it to drop into engagement with the beam when the notch 16 alines therewith. Such alinement would only take place when the lever 13 is moved forward as above stated. It will then be seen that said lever will be held in such position and the chains maintainedi'mdriying relation with the sheaves, until the arm is released. This is done automatically, as will behereinafter seen.

Between the wheels 2is disposedthe bowl of the scraper. This comprises sideplates 18, a bottom plate 19 and an end gate 20 pivoted onto the rear of the bowl. This end gate is normally held closed by releasable catch means, hereinafter described. The bottom plate 19 is substantially straight throughout except towards its rear end, where it has an upward slant to the gate as shown, so that said end is always clear of the ground. Hanger arms 21 are pivoted to the sides of the bowl at the rear end intermediate the upper and lower ends, said arms extending upwardly to pivotal connections with the frames 1. Tension arms 22 extend forwardly from pivotal connection with the side plates 18 near the front and intermediate the top and bottom and outside the same, to pivotal connections with the frame 1. Back bars 23 are pivotally connected to the side plates in common with the tension arms but on the inside of the plates, and extend upwardly and into engagement with pinions 24 fixed on the shaft 5. Suitable guide and retaining means 25 is of course employed to hold the racks in mesh with the pinions, without interfering with the swinging movement of the racks tangential to said pinions.

Pivoted onto the inside of the side plates above the pivotal connection of the members 22 and 23 therewith are forwardly extending arms 26. These arms support at their forward ends a normally substantially horizontal and transversely extending apron 27, having sides 27 extending to the arms. A

chain or the like 28 extends'upwardly from the apron to the frame 1 and normally holds the apron suspended a certain distance from the ground, the apron being then also ahead of the bowl.

.The apron is also arranged relative to the bowl that when the forward end of the latter is raised a short distance, said apron Wlll engage the bottom of the bowl adjacent the forward scraping edge, thus actmg to retain the dirt in the bowl and pre- Vent the same from spilling out at the front end. With any further upward movement of the bowl the apron is raised therewith as shown in F ig. 3, and then practically forms a part of the bowl itself.

, Fixed on the shaft 5 is a ratchet wheel 29 engaged by a pawl 30 normally held in such engagement by a spring 31. The

ratchet wheel is so disposed that it allows rotation of the shaft 5 in that direction which will cause the rack bars to be raised, but prevents rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction. The pawl is released when desired by means of a rod 32 which is arranged to engage and push the same clear of the ratchet. This rod is mounted in con nection with an operating member, which may be a pedal as shown at 33 or a hand lever disposed of course within the range of the operator occupying the seat 14.

The lower portion of the end gate 20 when the bowl is in its normal position is vertically disposed, while the upper portion extends at anupward and forward slope part way over the top of the bowl, the corresponding edges of the side plate 18 having a similar slope, as shown in Fig. 5. The gate is suitably hinged along its upper edge to the bowl as shown at 34. Pivoted for transverse movement on the lower portion of the end gate is a ratchet bar 35 adapted to engage a lug or catch 36 which is fixed on the bottom plate 19. This bar is normally held thus engaged and the gate consequently locked against rearward opening movement by a spring 37. To release the latch when desired a bell-crank 38 is mounted on the gate. One end of such bell-crank is connected to the bar 35 and the other end to a flexible cable 39 or the like which extends upwardly and forwardly over suitable guide pulleys 4.0 to a termination adjacent the operators seat 14. The cable is so arranged that when the bowl is raised to a dumping position all slack will be nearly taken up, so that only a short pull on the cable will be necessary to release the latch and allow the gate to open.

In operation the bowl is held at any desired scraping level b the ratchet and pawl mechanism, since as a ove described the lowering of the rack which controls the lowering of the bowl is controlled by said ratchet and pawl. When it is desired to raise the bowl the chains are moved into frictional and driving engagement with the sheaves 8 by shoving the lever 13 forward until the notch in the bar 15 is engaged with the beam 17 In order to insure such engagement regardless of the normal or stretched condition of the chain due to wear.

on an arc whose center is the pivotal connec-' b the tension arms 22. The forward portion of the bowl therefore must swing about an arc whose center is the pivotal connection of said tension arms with'the frame 1. The result of this arrangement of connections, with the forward movement of the racks, is that the bowl finally assumes a position with the lower portion of the end gate 20 nearly in a horizontal position and with the bottom plate 19 approaching a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 3. This is because the rear end of the bowl at its pivotal connection with the arms 21 moves but little, and the bowl turn on such pivot as an axis.

Prior to such extent of movement, the bowl has engaged the apron 27 and. thereafter the apron of course moves with the bowl as before stated. The forward edge of the apron, with a continued upward and rotating movement of the bowl ultimately engages the latch bar 15 and raises the same, so that the notch 16 clears the beam 17. The lever 13 will therefore return to its normal position, the pressure on the idlers 9 is released and the chains become slack, merely slipping around the sheaves 8. Rotation of the shaft 5 and upward movement of the bars '23 and the bowl is therefore halted, and the bowl will be heldin such raised position owing to the engagement of the pawl 30 with the ratchet wheel 29.

The load in the bowl may then be carried any distance without danger of spilling.

until such time as it is desired to dump the same. It will be noted from Fig. 3 that when the bowl is in this position the upper portion of the end gate 20 is in a substantially vertical position, which prevents the escape ofany dirt rearwardly over this gate At the same time the bottom plate 1-9 and apron 27 are in such a position as to prevent any dirt from spilling over the front end of the bowl. The load is therefore pressing mainly on the lower portion of the end gate; so when the latter is opened by releasing the latch, the dirt will instantly and freely discharge from the bowl.

The apron 27 however is more than a mere end gate or closure, forming an extension to the bowl which enables more dirt to be maintained in the bowl than would otherwise be the case. i

When the bowl is in scraping position as shown in Fig. 1, and the apron 27 is above and clear of the front end'of the bowl, the dirt, after filling the bowl, piles in front of the bowl to a considerable extent, some of this dirt lodging on the apron 27.

Therefore with the initial raising movement of the bowl to a carrying position, this excess or overhanging dirt, instead of spilling onto the ground, is for the most part prevented from so doing by the apron, on which said dirt then rests. Owing to the normal inclination of the apron, and the setting of the same relative to the arm 26 and its pivotal connection the dirt tends to press and close the apron against the bowl rather than force the same open, and yet this action takes place without any jamming of the apron into the bowl. This position of the apron relative to the bowl also tends to cause the apron to readily cut through the dirt directly in front of the bowl as the latter rises to meet the apron.

When it is desired to allow the bowl to return to a scraping position, the pawl 30 is withdrawn from the ratchet wheel by pressure on the pedal 33, which allows the shaft 5 to rotate. The weight of the bowl then causes the latter to descend, the pawl being allowed to reengage the ratchet when the bowl has dropped on the desired level. To hold the wheels 2 against too rapid rotation if the scraper is travelling down hill band brakes indicated at 41 are applied to the wheels. Said brakes are controlled in any suitable and common manner, such as by connections indicated generally at 42 extending from the brakes to a common control pedal 43 or the like. These brakes, however, are omitted if a tractor is hauling the scraper.

It will be noted that there are a number bers to which the arms 21 and 22 are connected. Arms 21 may therefore be vertic'ally adjusted, which alters the distance of the rear end of the bowl and end gate from the ground. This allows the end gate, when opened as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, tobe then near the ground, where it serves as a means for spreading or leveling the dirt as it discharges from the bowl. It will be seen that, the end gate then abuts against the back cross-member of the frame 1, maintaining the gate in a rearwardly immovable position. By adjusting the tension arms 22,

together if desired with the arms 21, the.

ment is imparted to the rod or pawl. If

no moveof vertically spaced holes in the frame memthe lever .is reversed beyond neutral posi- ,tion however, the pawl will be disengaged from the ratchet in the same manner as with the pedal.

This control arrangement, employing only one lever, adapts our scrapers to be coupled together in gangs of three for instance. In this case an operator is only necessary on the seat of the centrally located scraper, since pull and push rods can easily be run from the levers 13 of the other scrapers to said central scraper.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

l/Vhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from thespirit of the invention, as definediby the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A scraper comprising a frame supported from the ground, a bowl hung in the frame, means for raising the bowl with the forward movement of the frame, releasable control means for placing such raising means in operation. catch means for holding said control means against release when the raising means has been set in operation, and means whereby said catch means will be automatically released when the bowl has been raised a predetermined distance.

2. A scraper comprising a frame supported from the ground, a bowl hung in the frame, a mechanism for enabling the bowl to be raised. control means movable at will to cause said mechanism to function, releasable means then'holding said control means against release when thus moved. and means whereby said holding means will be automatically released when the bowl has been raised a predetermined amount.

3. A scraper comprising a frame supported from'the ground, a bowl hung in the frame, a mechanism for enablingthe bowl to be raised, control means movable at will to cause said mechanism to function, releasable means then holding said control means against release when thus moved, said holding means being so positioned relative to the bowl and to the path of upward movement of one end thereof that said means will be engaged and released by the bowl when the latter has been raised a predetermined distance.

4. A scraper comprising a frame, wheels supporting the same, a bowl hung in the frame, a transverse shaft above. the bowl, pinions on the shaft, rack bars engaging thev pinions and pivoted onto the bowl adjacent its forward end whereby with the upward movement of the rack bars the bowl will be raised at such end, tension arms connected to the bowl in connection with the rack bars and extending thence forwardly to the frame, and hanger arms pivoted onto the bowl adjacent its rear end and extending upwardly thence to pivotal connections with the frame.

5. A scraper comprising a frame, wheels supporting the same, a bowl hung in the frame, a transverse shaft above the bowl,

pinions on the shaft, rack bars engaging the pinions and pivoted onto the bowl whereby with the upward movement of the rack bars the how] will be raised, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, a sheave mounted in connection with one of the wheels, a normally slack chain passing around the sheave and sprocket, and means operable at will for causing the chain to be tightened to frictionally engage the sheave.

6. A scraper comprising a frame, wheels supporting the same, a bowl hung in the frame, a transverse shaft above the bowl, pinions on the shaft, rack bars engaging the pinions and pivoted onto the bowl whereby with the upward movement of the rack bars the bowl will be raised, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, a sheave mounted in connection with one of the wheels, a normally slack chain passing around the sheave and sprocket, an idler engaged with the .chain, an oper ating member connected to the idler to cause the latter to be moved so that the chain is placed in frictional engagement with the sheave. a latch member arranged in connection with the operating member and functioning to prevent release of the idler when said member has been moved to move the idler, and means arranged in connection with the bowl for causing said latch to be released upon the raising of the bowl a predetermined distance.

'7. A scraper comprising a frame, wheels supporting the same, a bowl hung in the frame,-a transverse shaft above the bowl, pinions on the shaft, rack bars engaging the pinions and pivoted onto the bowl whereby with the upward movement of the rack bars the bowl will be raised, a sprocket wheel on the shaft, asheave mounted in connection with one of the wheels, a normally slack chain passing around the sheave and sprocket, an idler engaged with the chain, an operating member connected to the idler to cause the latter to be moved so that the chain is placed in frictional engagement with the sheave. a latch member arranged in connection with the operating member and functioning to prevent release of the idler when said member has been moved to move the idler, said latch member extending across the path of upward movement of the forward edge of the bowl, whereby said latch member will be engaged and released by said edge when the bowl has been raised a predetermined distance.

8. A structure as in claim 10, in which means, releasable at will, is provided for then holding the bowl against downward movement, such means comprising a ratchet wheel on the shaft, a pawl. engaging the same, said pawl and ratchet being arranged to allow free rotation of the shaft only in that direction which will cause the bowl to be raised, and hand controlled means for withdrawing the pawl from the ratchet wheel.

9. A scraper comprising a frame supported from the ground, a bowl hung in the frame, means for raising the bowl with the forward movement of the frame, releasable means for placing such raising means in operation, operating means for said releasable means including a lever positioned ahead of the bowl, and a catch structure between the operating means and the frame for holding the releasable means against release, said catch being positioned in the path of movement of the bowl to be engaged and released by the bowl when the latter is moving upwardly.

10. A scraper including a bowl open at its front end, means supporting the bowl in a manner to enable it to tilt upwardly at such front end, an apron to form e closure for the front end of the bowl disposed in front of and above the bowl when the latter is in a scraping position and engaging the bowl when the latter is raised a predetermined extent, and means supporting the apron in a manner to limit the downward movement of the same while enabling said apron to freely move up with the bowl after the apron has become engaged with the bowl.

11. A scraper including a bowl open at its front end, means supporting the bowl in a manner to enable it to tilt upwardly at such front end, an apron to form a closure for the front end of the bowl only when the bowl has been'tilted upwardly a predetermined distance; the transverse forward end wall of the apron being then substantially in longitudinal alinement with the bottom of the scraper whereby to form a front end extension of the bowl.

12. A scraper including a bowl open at its front end, means supporting the bowl in a manner to enable it to tilt upwardly at such front end, an apron to form a closure for the front end of the bowl only when the bowl has been tilted upwardly a predetermined distance; arms pivoted onto the bowl and extending downwardly and forwardly to the apron when the bowl is on the ground, and a flexible element normally holding the apron clear of the ground; the front end of the apron then sloping upwardly from the bowl at an acute angle to the ground and being disposed a certain distance ahead of the same whereby dirt piled into the bowl and tending to fall out from the front end of the bowl when the latter is raised will drop onto the apron and .tend to close the same against the bowl.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

CHARLES E. BALL. SAMUEL H. BALL. 

